Do the honourable thing, Najib

MAY 15 — The last three months have seen a flurry of activity on the Perak political front. All of this was without any doubt occasioned by Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s blatantly cynical, barefaced manipulation of human greed. Najib is no novice when it comes to money matters. He succeeded spectacularly in seducing the three most unremarkable and positively unpleasant Pakatan Rakyat characters to declare themselves independent supporters of the Barisan Nasional.

They have, as to be expected, denied most vehemently that they had succumbed to any such unworthy and degrading temptation as money. Conventional wisdom, on the other hand, says that Malaysian politicians will only transfer their party allegiance for cash, and not principle. I leave you to draw your own conclusion in this particular case.

Najib’s single act of subterfuge has been remarkable for the damage, and repercussions, to the Malaysian body politic, quite apart from damaging further his own already seriously bruised reputation. If he thought what he had done was an example of cutting edge political sophistication, I suggest he should think again. He has by his reckless adventure only succeeded in portraying himself as nothing more than a common garden variety, and not the statesman that we thought he would become given his father’s honoured place in our history and his family credentials.

In the event, he seems to me to be no better than Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the roughneck street fighter. What a bad start for someone who begins his premiership on a discordant note, encumbered with enormous baggage to boot: any chance of redeeming himself has gone down the Sungai Perak, baggage and all. However, all is not lost. If he has any sense of self-worth, justice and integrity, he should take immediate steps to untangle the political mess he created. My father’s injunction to me as a very playful boy was, “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

It is still relevant and appropriate advice, in my view, to give particularly to Najib who desires so devoutly to be loved and embraced as a people’s prime minister. He should practise what he is preaching so fervently about the importance of “feeling the pulse” of the people. If his close advisers are not telling him what really is going on in the towns and cities, big and small, as well as in the poor and neglected villages and hamlets up and down the country, then let me tell him some inconvenient truths about Perak that he might not particularly want to hear.

The people of Perak and, by extension, the overwhelming majority of the people of this country want to see an immediate end to the unseemly and totally disgraceful and disgusting display of political opportunism by the Umno-BN axis that has dragged the much-loved Sultan of Perak into political controversy that could have been avoided in the first place. His Royal Highness could have been spared the indignity of being reviled and ridiculed if Najib had thought more carefully about the fallout from his politically immature act.

As a responsible “people’s prime minister”, he has a duty to the people and the Sultan of Perak to return some semblance of order to their state which has since become the butt of some very unkind jokes. Najib does, of course, recognise that what the people want is for the state assembly to be dissolved so that fresh elections may be held. He is on record as admitting this as a way out of the current impasse, but claims that it is really up to the Sultan to decide.

We naturally respect his concern not to be seen to interfere with royal prerogatives. However, we wish he would stop playing poker and drop the hypocrisy because the reality is that he exercises considerable influence in matters of state, and he jolly well knows it.

The Perak crisis is pregnant with potential for mischief making, and you do not have to be the director of the Special Branch to know that unless something was put right quickly, the seething public anger could be exploited by enemies of the state to the detriment of our nascent democracy, peace and security. Najib must finish the dirty job he started by going back to the people. His Royal Highness the Sultan will not stand in the way of a just and popular solution. This is the only way to stop the rot that has already paralysed the government of Perak. Another day’s delay to dissolve the state assembly is another opportunity lost to return Perak to political sanity. Najib cannot just sit tight and look the other way hoping the crisis he fomented would just blow away.

The choice for the prime minister is a simple one: either elect to conduct himself like a common, opportunistic politician and face the dire consequences of his perfidious behaviour or a statesman who is concerned more with nation building on a lasting basis than opting for short-term political gains that may well turn out to be illusory. His 1 Malaysia, already riddled with contradictions and inconsistencies, will not amount to anything if the Perak crisis remains stuck in limbo. The ball is in his court. -- The Malaysian Insider

---

About the Author:
Tunku Aziz, one of the prime movers in setting up Transparency International Malaysia, in happier times was regarded by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi as "one man (who) was able to harness his personal passion and deep commitment to the values of ethics and integrity, give it a larger purpose and meaning, and turn it into a force to transform society for the better." Why then was he left out of the MACC Advisory Group? He is regarded as being too outspoken for comfort and, therefore, difficult to handle.

A Most Courageous Judge - A High Court Judge Succeeded Where The Federal Court Failed

By Matthias Chang
Tuesday, 12 May 2009 09:24



The pressure on the High Court Judge to do what is “politically correct” must have been intense. There is a culture prevalent among some members of the judiciary that it is better to make “politically correct” decisions so as to secure one’s career than to do justice on the spurious ground that there are appellate courts which should bear the weight and responsibility of such controversial decisions.

It is the passing-the-buck syndrome. These judges would surmise that if they handed down a judgment which is not politically correct and on appeal, the judgment is overruled, it is as good as ending their career – cold storaged till retirement age. Better that the Federal Court (the Apex Court) being the final authority, bear the brunt of the Executive’s wrath as they have the advantage of strength in numbers, as the corum of the Apex Court can be enlarged to nine. There is safety in numbers.

Therefore, credit must be given to the Honourable Justice Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim for handing down this historic judgment.

Lawyers are officers of the court and like judges, must likewise be courageous in the discharge of their duties. They must not pander to the whims and fancies of their client, no matter how powerful.

If a case is crystal clear and the client is wrong, it behoves the lawyer to advice the client accordingly so as not to pervert the course of justice.

A courageous lawyer in such circumstances will also lend assistance to a Judge to arrive at a just decision and not succumb to the temptation to do what is deemed “politically correct”.

The observation of the Judge as to the conduct of the State Legal Adviser, Datuk Ahmad Kamal illustrates the above principle. It was reported in the Sun newspaper and I quote:

“On the issue of the affidavit by Perak State Legal Adviser Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid, Abdul Aziz ruled that he was not a neutral and impartial witness. ‘It was his own admission that he was instructed by the respondent’s counsel to affirm the affidavit. The word instructed is a very strong word. To me, he is not a neutral or impartial witness; his testimony was coloured by the instruction that he received,’ said Abdul Aziz.

“Kamal is the State Legal Adviser and his duty is to advise on all legal matters referred to him, including advising Nizar on the draft proclamation…”

Given the above observations by the said Judge, it seems to me not right for the Counsel for the respondents to “instruct” the State Legal Adviser to affirm an affidavit in the manner in which it was done.

It has been indicated by the Prime Minister that Barisan Nasional would be appealing to the Court of Appeal against the judgment handed down by the High Court.

If, the Prime Minister is sincere in his comments that politicians must be humble and gain the trust of the rakyat, then he must practice what he had preached. And if he has the confidence and trust of the rakyat, he should have no qualms in agreeing to the dissolution of the Perak State Assembly, have a snap election and let the rakyat be the ultimate judge as to which government they want to rule over them in the state of Perak.

If the Prime Minister insist that might is right, he will be the first one-term prime minister in Malaysia. While Badawi has the ignominious distinction of having wrecked the Barisan Nasional, it would be Najib who will be vilified for burying UMNO under the rubbish heap of history.

Members of UMNO, you better ensure that Najib makes the right decision or your “gravy train” will be derailed for good.

Najib must clear his own mess

The MALAYSIAN Insider - I never for a moment thought I should live to see the day when a traditional hereditary ruler of a Malay State has taken such a rapid slide in his people’s estimation, approbation and adulation as has the Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak. It took one unfortunate, ill-conceived and ill-considered decision over a petition by the Pakatan Rakyat Mentri Besar Datuk Nizar Jamaluddin, to dissolve the Perak State Assembly that has turned Perak into a politically difficult and dangerous situation.

His Highness Sultan Azlan Shah is no ordinary ruler. As a former Lord President and head of the Malaysian judiciary, he ascended the throne of Perak as someone well-qualified by education and training for what, for all practical purposes, is a largely ceremonial sinecure. Be that as it may, the position carries a heavy constitutional responsibility.

It has become quite apparent that while his legal knowledge may be assumed to be extensive, his training more than adequate, his wisdom in dealing with a delicate and important political matter of public concern, on reflection, has in my humble opinion, turned out to be questionable. A great deficiency in a ruler who showed so much early promise of being a wise, liberal minded and benevolent leader.

When the final chapter of the Perak constitutional fiasco comes to be written, the country, and the world, will be able revisit and understand better the magnitude of the debilitating effects of the royal decision on the Malaysian body politic. Malaysians, in particular, will view with horror the ugly scars left on their nation’s nascent democracy, and they will be constantly reminded how one hasty error of judgement was enough to trigger a political tragedy of the worst imaginable kind. A Greek tragedy pales by comparison.

The saddest part of all is that the resultant unseemly legal wrangling could have been avoided. The fact that the flawed decision was not reversed, within a day or two when it became abundantly clear that the decision not to dissolve the Assembly and call for fresh elections was manifestly unfair and unethical, was nothing if not sheer carelessness, in all the circumstances. I maintain that even now it is not too late to reverse that politically fatal decision and bring to an end this disgraceful episode in the history of participatory representative government in our country.


There is no disgrace or humiliation in coming to terms with one’s honest mistake. No one, even the wisest among us, is infallible. If the Sultan believes, as we know he does passionately, that his royal duty is to serve the public interest, then NOW is the time to give that commitment practical effect.

The Perak fiasco is not about to run out of steam. We must accept that the situation will get worse before it gets better. I saw the images from the State Assembly “sitting” on national television at lunch time today (7 May 2009) with a sense of unbounded revulsion. The scene of warring politicians shouting invective was not a joy to behold.

To use a medical analogy, the Perak affair will be a running sore. Only the Sultan of Perak can provide an effective cure. To ignore what is obviously an untenable constitutional position is an act of grave irresponsibility, and while the Prime Minister thinks it is a great idea for him to give the impression that he is above it all, I should like to remind him that he is not blameless, far from it. It was his active act of muddying the Perak political waters that brought about this current crisis in the first place.

He now has a chance to show that he is not a partisan prime minister, but a national statesman who is prepared to intervene decisively to put matters right in fairness and equity.

Looking back, it was not such a clever personal coup after all. His machination was so abysmally repugnant even judged by the consistently low ethical and moral political standards of UMNO/BN that I find myself wondering whether I could trust him enough to buy my next second-hand car from him; this is the same man trying to persuade us to buy his 1 Malaysia. What a man! (With apologies to G.B.Shaw)

The Lesson From Perak

M. Bakri Musa
www.bakrimusa.com


The current political paralysis in Perak reflects the major failures of our key institutions. It is a total breakdown at the palace, the legislature, and the permanent establishment. It also exposes the glaring inadequacies of the judicial system which has yet to adjudicate this critical and urgent matter of state.

It is not however, the failure of the people, as some pundits have implied by quoting the old adage that we deserve the government we get. It is the voters’ prerogative whether to grant the incumbent party a stunning victory, humble it with an unstable slim majority, or even throw it into the ranks of the opposition. Canada and Italy have a long history of minority governments, and they have managed well.

A mark of a mature democracy, or any system for that matter, is the transfer of power from one entity to another smoothly and predictably. Perak is a spectacular failure; it is also a preview for Malaysia.

Perak is one of three state governments that changed hands as a consequence of the 2008 general elections. In the other two, Kedah and Penang, the transition went much smoother. There were hiccups of course, like the destruction of state documents and the dissolution of legislators’ wives’ club in Selangor, for example. That reflected more infantile behaviors than institutional failure. Why Perak should be the exception merits careful consideration.

We used to assume that if only we could get qualified and experienced people, then no matter how battered or inadequate our institutions, those people would rise up to the challenge. In Perak, we have a sultan who by any measure is the most qualified and experienced, having served as the nation’s top judge for many years. Yet his decision in this critical matter, which demanded the most judicious of judgment, proved to be unwise and precipitous. And that is putting it mildly.

This is not hindsight. Even at the time when he made that pivotal decision (which was the singular event that triggered developments which culminated in the spectacle of May 7), the voice of the people was loud and clear. Only that the sultan refused to hear or chose to ignore it. No amount of subsequent royal pontifications will ever rectify or justify this error. Only a reversal of that earlier erroneous decision would.

It was too bad that Sultan Azlan Shah deputized his Raja Muda to the May 7th opening of the legislature. While that may have spared the sultan the spectacle and embarrassment of being physically entrapped by the bedlam, he missed a splendid opportunity to witness firsthand what his modern-day version of hulubalangs was up to! Instead it was his Raja Muda who was left to cool his heels for a good six hours! Well, let us hope that at least it was an edifying experience for him.

It was nonetheless pathetic to see the Raja Muda reduced to pleading for respect for his speech! Few, not even the normally pliant mainstream media, bothered to carry his speech in full. So much for the respect that he desperately sought!


Amazingly in his speech, the Raja Muda did not deem it important or necessary to comment on the ugly spectacle he had just witnessed and been a part of. He remained aloof and strangely uncurious. He must have been in temporary suspended animation, oblivious of his immediate surroundings, during his six-hour wait. He was from another planet, earlier programmed to deliver his royal speech and then leave! Nothing more; for that you would have to reprogram him again!

The principal political protagonists here were Barisan Nasional’s Zamry Kadir, a Temple University PhD, and Pakatan’s Nizar Jamaluddin, a professional engineer fluent in multiple languages. Then there was the Speaker of the House, Sivakumar, a lawyer by profession. Their impressive diplomas and credentials meant nothing; they only looked impressive when framed and hanged on their office walls.

Instead of being the stabilizing force and buffering factor, the permanent establishment, from the State Secretary to the State Legal Advisor and the Chief of Police, was hopelessly ensnared in the mess through their highly partisan performances. They rapidly degenerated to being part of the problem (and a very significant one at that) instead of the solution.

As for the judiciary, it failed to appreciate the urgency and gravity of the crisis. Thus the case did not merit an expedited hearing and left to meander through the usual slow judicial pathway. By contrast, the 2000 American elections that saw the Florida ballot counts being litigated, the case ended up at the Supreme Court for a definitive decision in a matter of days, not months.

Lessons Learned

Thanks to modern technology, those who were not there in Ipoh could still follow the unfolding events in real time, trumping the severe censorship machinery of the government. Not that it was ever effective, just like the rest of the government.

Unfortunately there is not much that we could learn from the sorry spectacle. Even to declare that it reflected the sorry state of our institutions would be inadequate. Besides, we already have too many affirmations of that sad reality.

The next reflex reaction would be to declare, “Everyone is to be blamed!” While that is an understandable response, it does not solve anything, for the corollary to that statement would be that no one is to be blamed. That would be a cop out; we are all not equally culpable.

Everyone in the chain of events could have stopped if not reversed the destructive sequence right up to the day before the infamous debacle at the legislature. Failing that, the buck must and should stop somewhere. In our system, the buck stops at the highest level, the palace.

Consider the chain of events again. First there were those renegade legislators switching party affiliations. No law against that; it was their choice. Perhaps that would galvanize the leaders of the party they had deserted to do a better job of screening and scrutinizing their future candidates. Maybe primary elections among party members (as in America) instead of a decision from headquarters would produce better and more reliable candidates. That certainly would be a useful lesson.

However, this being Malaysia, things get more interesting. It turned out that those turncoats were earlier being investigated for corruption. Miraculously after their switchover, the charges were not pursued! So far no journalist has any thought of following that lead.

Even if those characters were pure, their switching over should never have triggered such a mess. Surely they could wait till the next sitting of the legislature to introduce whatever vote of no confidence they may have in mind of the leadership, and thus bring down the sitting government in the traditional and only legitimate way.

Even if leaders of the Barisan coalition were to petition the sultan to dismiss the sitting Chief Minister (which they did), the sultan ought to first also hear out the incumbent before making a decision. Common sense dictates that. One does not have to be a judge or have read the weighty tomes of legal luminaries to appreciate that elementary dictum. Hear both sides before rendering a decision! Even a new father knows that.

Sultan Azlan Shah cannot pretend to be able to read or predict the thinking of his legislators after only a few moments of “chat” under the most severe royal protocol at the palace. That would be the height of royal arrogance. In any other circumstance, decisions made under such surroundings could be considered as coerced. Besides, it is their collective judgment expressed openly in a properly convened legislative forum that matters. Not only could you not predict individual behaviors, you could never foretell the group dynamics and the final collective decision.

If our political leaders make a mistake, they are held accountable. Just ask Abdullah Badawi. The buck with the present imbroglio stops at the palace, with Sultan Azlan Shah. Unfortunately in our system at present, there is no effective system of checks and balances with respect to our monarchs, both at the state as well as federal levels. They are also immune to prosecution in the conduct of their official duties. There is no mechanism to fire or censure them. The Special Tribunal is only for prosecuting their personal misconduct. Well, at least that is a beginning, a measure of some accountability.

Regardless whether we have an effective system of checks and balances with respect to the sultans, our society has irreversibly changed. The old feudal order is now gone, for good, and never to return. Get used to it! In today’s world, the people is sovereign. Just ask the descendents of the late Shah Pahlavi and King Farouk, or closer to home, the Sultan of Sulu.

I tried to convey this in my poem, Makna Merdeka 50 (Meaning of Merdeka 50), I wrote to commemorate our 50th year of independence. I quote a couple of stanzas:

Rakyat negri bukan nya kuli

Untok di kerah ka sana sini

Zaman purba tak akan kembali

Mungkin menteri di buang negri!

Renungkan nasib si Idi Amin

Yang Shah Pahlavi pun tak terjamin

Pemimpin negri mesti meninggati

Rakyat – bukan Raja – yang di daulati!

(Blessed with freedom and reason are God’s children/To lords and kings we are not beholden/The feudal order has long been toppled/Let’s be clear, the sovereign is the people!

Ponder the fate of one Idi Amin/That of Shah Pahlavi was equally grim!/Those realities our leaders must heed/“Power to the people!” is the new creed.)

That in essence is the pertinent lesson from Perak.

1 Malaysia? Not Even 1 Perak!

By Dzulkifli Ahmad

The Malaysian Insider, MAY 9 — It has finally come to this. An impasse or a deadlock in the Perak state assembly for the last three months has finally turned into anarchy. A total disgrace to the nation witnessed by the entire world. In utter contempt of the legislative body, the ugly scene where a disputed speaker could summon the sergeant-at-arms to forcibly remove the rightful speaker tells it all. It wasn’t just crude and brute but smacks of contempt for the august House. The rest was hell broke lose, total chaos and a great dishonour to the nation, quite unknown and unheard of in any civilised society.

What has become of the BN government under the newly minted premiership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak? Only into the first month of his regime, he has already committed excesses which indeed spell doom for this nation. The recent spate of detentions is totally uncalled for and extremely disturbing. And all these after pronouncing his famous mantra of 1 Malaysia! Disgusting. Is he out of his mind? What 1 Malaysia is he talking about? He can’t even put 1 Perak in place!

What is most disconcerting is the fact that the entire fracas could have been tactfully avoided if only the BN could wait for the outcome of the judicial review submitted by Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin that will be heard in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Nizar would by then know whether he is successful in having the High Court proclaim him as the rightful Perak mentri besar. Why did they want the assembly to proceed in haste despite knowing of the pending ugly scenario that will shame all? Many are still left wondering.

The court decision could bring to an end the prolonged impasse in the state triggered by the defections of the three Pakatan representatives to become BN-friendly independents. This situation has allowed BN to have the strength of numbers in the state assembly, which resulted in the Perak Sultan requesting that Nizar step down and immediately appointing Datuk Zambry Abd Kadir as the new mentri besar in February.

Justice Datuk Abdul Aziz will make his ruling on Monday after having heard submissions from Nizar’s lead counsel Sulaiman Abdullah. For the record, his lead counsel has reminded the court that the function of the monarch is to appoint a mentri besar after the general election and to dissolve the assembly.

Sulaiman has emphatically argued that under no circumstances can the Ruler decide to investigate or hold an inquiry to find who commands the majority and then appoint a new mentri besar. While admitting that there is a lacuna or loophole in both the Federal and Perak state constitutions on matters of removal of the mentri besar or the chief executive, such powers are, however, not provided for in the constitutions, argued the lead counsel.

Now that the situation has turned into such a dreadful ending, one can’t help thinking why has the monarch, who was once Lord President of the Supreme Court, a great legal mind, allowed this impasse to turn so chaotic and into anarchy. Couldn’t the monarch have averted all this by dissolving the legislative assembly on that fateful Feb 5 and render back to the rakyat their mundane and democratic role of electing a new government for the state in accordance with and abiding by the rules and dictates of a free and fair electoral process.

That would have doubly served the interest of safeguarding the sanctity of the constitutional monarch much as it would render the right of choosing the government of the day to the people of Perak. By so doing, not only would the monarch be above politics but actually seen to be so.

Regrettably that wasn’t made possible by political bigotry that now attempts at hoodwinking the rakyat by spinning the slogan of 1 Malaysia. It takes a different paradigm shift of mindset and leadership to bring the nation out of this mediocrity and to propel it to greater heights.

The unfortunate events of May 7 have undoubtedly showed that sanity must return in order to restore order and stability to the government in Perak. And that can only be possibly achieved by dissolving the legislative assembly and holding fresh elections. Until such time, the people of Perak and the rest of the nation must be in black, to together say that we are repugnant to consigning the death of democracy in Perak! -- The Malaysian Insider

Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad is the PAS director of strategy and also Kuala Selangor MP.

Open Letter To PM Najib

Now Is The Time To Prepare A Massive and Sustained Counter-Attack Against Anwar - Do Not Fall Into Anwar’s Trap of By-Election Theatrics


By Matthias Chang
Friday, 01 May 2009 09:56

It takes POLITICAL MATURITY and COURAGE to walk away from a tactical fight so as to win the ultimate war.

Anyone who has studied the Art of War by the greatest military strategist Sun Tzu will agree that one should only go to battle when victory is a certainty and when we have the overriding advantage and force in all aspects.

When we fight, it must be “total victory and a crushing defeat for our opponents”. Nothing less will suffice. Anything less is a waste of time and resources

Already, Anwar is planning for another possible by-election in Selangor. Why?

Anwar needs the mass media coverage to stay relevant. He is a Chow Kar!

Ignore him and treat him like a nuisance and he will in time be treated as irrelevant. He is like a naughty school boy craving for attention. Ignore him.

The people needs time to realize the sheer immaturity of Anwar and his brand of politics.

The people have forgotten that he is a CONVICTED CRIMINAL and was convicted for abuse of power and corruption by two Federal Courts. This is unprecedented in the history of criminal law in Malaysia!

Since Badawi took power and even in the 2008 General Elections, there were hardly any worthwhile criticisms of Anwar Ibrahim in the Barisan Nasional controlled mass media.

Today, there is even less. It is as if there is a reluctance to criticize him, seemingly on the stupid and naïve conclusion that he had suffered enough after six years of imprisonment. Yet, he was lawfully and rightly convicted of a heinous offence – abuse of power and corruption. Some say that this is a reflection of the Malay culture. This is the ultimate fight for survival for the soul of UMNO and the MALAY LEADERS better get this inside their heads!

The Zionist controlled manchurian candidate has been groomed to take over the country. Stop blaming the Chinese for being “disloyal” and what not. No one dare say it. This is essentially a fight for power between two Malay factions for the control of the country. Nothing more, nothing less! This is real-politics!

DEAR PM,

You have just set up a new Cabinet. Even the brightest and the most hard-working needs time to settle into his job and discharge the awesome responsibility. On the average it takes from six months to a year to formulate policies and get them implemented.

The key word is FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!

DON’T BE DISTRACTED. HAVE PATIENCE. THE PEOPLE WILL BE GRATEFUL WHEN THEY REALISE THAT THE ECONOMY IS THE PRIORITY AND NOT ANWAR’S STUPID THEATRICS AND ZIONIST FINANCED GUTTER POLITICS.

He has threatened you with a funeral procession. Don’t react. Stay cool! There is a way to counter his seditious and defamatory theatrics. But don’t resort to law. People don’t understand and or have no time to analyse in depth complicated legal issues.

There are other ways to push Anwar down the memory hole.

Now is the time that you plan for a massive and sustained COUNTER-ATTACK.

The danger to your administration is NOT ANWAR AT THIS STAGE OF YOUR POLITICAL LIFE.

The greatest danger is the Trojan Horses within your party and ranks.

Learn from the experience of the Badawi regime. Those who shouted loudest in defence of Badawi and attacked Tun Dr. Mahathir actually “killed” Badawi.

These people are around you and they are shouting and will shout the loudest to prove that they are loyal barking dogs. But they are just barking dogs.

Their actions will destroy your administration as it enhances the perception that you need barking dogs to do the dirty work. Go to the ground and discover this for yourself.

Riding the commuter train will not reveal such raw feelings which the public have against such barking dogs and ultimately your own image. Such barking dogs actually give the perception that you are weak. Likewise the corrupt leaders.

You don’t need them to rally support within the party and or to counter the hidden faction/threat within the ranks.

The office of the Prime Minister is awesome and its authority applied judiciously and with determination will in most cases resolve such issues.

Don’t reject my analysis. Just ponder and then you will realize that I am right.

Look at my record as the Political Secretary to the fourth Prime Minister. If I had not been successful, why is there a need to emulate Tun in appointing a Chinese and a non-Barisan Nasional component party member as his Political Secretary? Why are some leaders trying to recruit “Chinese” political secretaries and or special officers? They are barking up the wrong tree. This may sound arrogant, but common sense must prevail.

They got it wrong by seeking candidates from Barisan Nasional component parties. Why do you need a MCA or Gerakan representative serving as a political secretary or special officer when you have the leaders in your Cabinet offering their views from a MCA/Gerakan perspective? A political secretary from the ranks of a party is a subservient and subjective political instrument. If you want to listen to an echo do just that!

Think out of the box! If you cannot see the difference, then there is nothing to say! There are many good professionals out there should you want to recruit the best.

To develop a Grand Strategy to Counter-Attack Anwar, just ask yourself these simple questions:

What is your greatest strength, Barisan Nasional’s greatest asset?

What is the most obvious weakness of Anwar and his so-called state governments of Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Selangor and (Perak)?

The greatest military victories were built on simple ideas and plans.

Give Perak to them and it will be their quagmire! Believe me. Don’t waste time in Perak. The Royal Household has created a big hole. Get out of it now!

I promised in my last posting that I will not criticize you and your government for now.

In this posting, I am offering you a way out of the malaise that has gripped your administration, a left over of the Badawi regime! First get rid of this infection as one would against the swine flu.

The key is: THINK OUT OF THE BOX.

I wish you every success.

But please be considerate as well for if you fail, we have the right to put things right.

---

About the Author:

Matthias Chang is a Malaysian of Chinese descent. He is a Barrister of 31 years standing and once served as the Political Secretary to the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. He is the author of three bestsellers, “Future FastForward”, “Brainwashed for War, Programmed to Kill”, and “The Shadow Money-Lenders and the Global Financial Tsunami”, published in the US and in Malaysia. Since his student days in England in the late 1960s, he was and still is, actively involved in the anti-war movement spanning a period of 41 years. He is a Catholic but enjoins all to promote inter-faith understanding. He resides in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and can be reached at matthias@skzcchambers.com or matthiaswenchieh@gmail.com